New Digi..????

[Steve]

Hi
I just got my first digi. I have already read some of the previous posts on some of the settings but was wondering if anyone could help me with the best settings for my lighting. Pics would mostly be taken out of the cage, medium lighting to high lighting in the room from sunlight(not direct throught window) and from a florescent light(the kind that find in incadescent lights). Will be taking pics of my beardies, burm, boas and tegus.
Any tips very much appreciated.
PS...I would like many of the pics to be from a zoomed in position and from medium range.
ALmost forgot my new digi is a Canon PowerShot A85

Thanks

[Big Mike]

"and from a florescent light(the kind that find in incandescent lights"

Florescent & incandescent are different kinds of lights.

That shouldn't matter much though. Your camera can change the white balance setting to compensate for different types of lighting. It's best not to mix lights of different temperatures (sunlight & incandescent for example) but it's not that big of a deal if you do.

I suggest that you disable the flash on your camera. On camera flash will give you flat boring lighting. Set up so that you get as much light as you can (within reason) and have your white balance set to auto or better yet set it to custom and use a white card to get it set just right for your lighting.

Use a tripod or other support if you can. If you can fire the camera without toughing it...with a remote or with the self timer...that will help as well.

If it's still too dark, you may want to try using the flash but either change the setting to lower it's power a notch...or cover the flash with tissue or tracing paper to make the light a little softer.

Good luck & have fun.

[Steve]

Thanks
and what I meant by:
"and from a florescent light(the kind that find in incandescent lights"

is the kind that fits in incandescent fixtures...youy can get em at most stores that sell buld...screw in a incandescent fixture but they are really a 'florescent' llight. don't know if i can explain properly

[clint545]

Steve, go to your functions menu and you can change the lighting setting according to what lighting is in the room, tank etc...

[Slannesh]

You're talking about a "Compact flourescent" bulb.

I use them all over my house :) and the more expensive kind in one of my fish tanks! ;)

[Big Mike]

Oh....a compact fluorescent. Now I got ya. :)

The auto white balance (or indoor) setting should work well but the best option is to use custom mode and take a reading from something that is white.

[Steve]

what do u mean by 'take a reading from something that is white'?
i'm new with the whole digi thing...got many of the manual settings set thought

[Big Mike]

You will have to check the manual but you should be able to set a custom white balance that will be correct for the lighting you are using.

Basically you get something white and place it where you will be taking the shots. You set the custom WB while aiming at the white card. The camera will use that setting to get proper colors.

[Steve]

ok thanks

[Jeff_Favelle]

Plus, taking digital shots is FREE! I would stat by taking shots of things and objects in the same room where you'll be taking your reptile shots. Take hundreds of them and document the shutter speed and F-stop and ISO speed and flash output and white balance, etc etc and see what settings work best. Write them down and then move on to live animal shots.

You must be pumped man, its an awesome camera! I can't wait to see some photos that you take!! :)

[Steve]

yeah me too...mostly to take pics of my tegus. I just don't understand all the ISO, flash output, the fstop and all that. I read your post on this Jeff and it helped alot. But i don't fully understand how they all relate to each other. I guess it will just take awhile of me playing with it.
Sucks the batteries are already dead...and I cant afford new ones cause I spent so much on the camera.

[Big Mike]

While you are waiting for the batteries to charge. Read up on some photography terms. Exposure, shutter speed, Aperture (F-stop) etc. Your camera will do just fine in the automatic modes but it helps to understand what it's doing.

Once you have the basics down...Come over to http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/ to learn more.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Taking pictures is ALL about light and how the camera is reacting to it. The biggies are F-stop and shutter speed. Light exposes the "film" in the camera. The more light, the brighter the picture. Too much light, too bright, = all white picture.

Shutter speed is how long the shutter is open for, exposing the "film". In dark conditions, you can leave the shutter open, getting more light in. But, the longer the shutter is open for, the more susceptible it is to camera shaking and movement. While the shutter is open, the camera will record everything through the lens. So it could be a blurry shot, unless you use a tripod. Anything under 1/100 for shutter speed should be used with a tripod.

F-stop is also known as aperature and is basically the "iris" of the camera. It determines how much light is let in. Lower the number, the more light that is let in. So a shot with a shutter speed of 1/250 with an F-stop of 3.8, may very well look the exact same as shot with a shutter speed of 1/100 and an F-stop of 4.3. You'll just have ti play with them to figure it out.

[Steve]

thanks every1